Jubilee house -Instead Of Flagstaff House

Almost eight years after the name change of the seat of government from Jubilee House to Flag Staff House, the 2016 flag bearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and members of his party brazenly continue to call the place by its former name.

Even though the seat of government, previously at the Osu Castle, was moved to then “Jubilee House” by the governing National Democratic Congress and was officially christened the Flagstaff House; the obstinate and recalcitrant twice defeated presidential candidate of the opposition NPP continue to refer to the official seat of government as the “Jubilee House”, instead of its formal name perhaps, to show his disdain for the authority of the Mahama-led administration.

Since he announced his third and possibly last attempt to stake another claim to the presidency, incorrigible Nana Akufo-Addo has been touting himself as the ideal candidate to occupy the “Jubilee House” after the November 7 polls.

This is not the first time the NPP 2016 flag bearer and members of his party have referred to the Flagstaff House by its former name. Since the declaration and inauguration of John Mahama as the undisputed President of Ghana, many in the NPP have refused to accord him that honor hence, the continual referral to the seat of government as Jubilee House.

The latest contemptuous reference to the Flagstaff House by its old name by the opposition leader was when Nana Akufo-Addo inaugurated the South African branch of the NPP last Sunday at Illovo in Johannesburg.

He urged all party members to put their shoulders to the wheel and help push the elephant into the “Jubilee House.”

The over-$70-million edifice christened Jubilee House by the erstwhile Kufuor administration few weeks before leaving office was to honor Ghana’s 50th anniversary of Independence. But the name was reverted to its origin, the Flagstaff House by the then ruling party, the NDC when it took office in 2009.

Ironically, it was Nana Akufo-Addo and his NPP who made a mountain out of a molehill when the Mahama government attempted to modified the name of the seat of government by naming it “Jubilee Flag Staff House.”

Former Chief of Staff in the Kufuor administration, Kwadwo Mpiani took government to the cleaners, charging it to stop going in circles and admit that “Jubilee house” is a more appropriate name to be given to the Presidential palace.

“I just don’t understand what it means. If we have now realized that it is good to call it a Jubilee House, let’s be honest to call it Jubilee House. The whole idea of calling it a jubilee house was because it was built during the country’s Golden Jubilee and it was done for historic reasons. Let’s be bold and honest to call it jubilee house if we have now decided to put partisan politics aside…” he stated.

National Organizer of NPP, John Boadu, then a deputy communications director of the party also mocked the Mahama government for attempting to modified the name of the seat of the executive, saying "With all the reasons they gave for changing it from Jubilee House to Flagstaff House; no, no I don’t believe it. What other reason will they give now?"

While many would have thought the controversies that surrounded the change of name would have cleared doubts in the minds of all that, the official seat of government has been reverted to its original name, Flag Staff House, since 2009, the NPP 2016 flag bearer and some of his party faithful are yet to come to terms with this ‘sacred’ fact and continue to call the place Jubilee House.